Robin wanted to win The Holdout, a cutthroat reality TV show, so she gave it her all, challenge after challenge. Then she fell for Grant, with his irresistible eyes and heartbreaking life story.

But Grant was only using Robin as they competed for a million dollars.Once home, Robin wants to hide from the humiliation as episodes of The Holdout are aired, and she worries her family was right all along; she’s not a survivor.

Yet she could surprise everyone, and have the last laugh.

Besides, Robin now has jury duty. And as she forges ahead, confronting her demons about bravery, justice, and romance, Robin will come to decide which is more important: the courage to stand alone, or the strength to love again.

For Lucy Jones, the distinction between love and politics is hazy at best. Both can be all-consuming, and either can lead to a heart-breaking loss or an exhilarating win. Whatever the case, if you’re seen as a loser, you probably are one. Lucy first learns this lesson in 1988, when she’s a shy girl, battling a high school bully and rooting for Dukakis. Through the years Lucy will experience stunning victories and agonizing defeats as she makes the choices that define her. Meanwhile, she also struggles to define her relationship with Monty, who comes in and out of her life like the changes in public opinion. Is Monty simply a one-night stand, a kindred spirit, or the love of her life? And by 2008, can he offer her a change to believe in?

Over the course of twenty years and six presidential elections, Lucy grows and adjusts with the times. Filled with snarky political and pop-culture references, November Surprise is about the journey we take to believe in a candidate, in love, and in ourselves.

November Surprise is a companion piece to Campaign Promises, which is free on Amazon. They can be read in either order.

*WARNING – the political views expressed in this book are fiercely liberal. If you’re a conservative, be prepared for your blood to boil.

Samantha acts without thinking. Her heart is huge while her sense of purpose is small; she’s willing to fight for those she loves, but she’s never learned to fight for herself. Eighteen-year-old Melody is cold and calculating, and she’s driven by the desire to better herself. As these compelling yet deeply flawed women battle for the affections of twenty-five-year-old Nathan, he becomes increasingly confused and torn between them.

Stylistically influenced by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner, Starring in the Movie of my Life is told alternately from both Samantha’s and Melody’s points-of-view and relates two complete yet combined stories about love, acceptance, and redemption. It speaks to our universal desire to be saved by the ones we love, and the monumental effort required to save ourselves.

Even if nobody believes her, Faith Emerson knows she’s psychic. After all, she totally saw it coming when Peter, her boyfriend of two years, dumped her for her best friend.

Heartbroken, Faith needs a fresh start. So when her good friend Carolyn suggests she move from Duluth to Minneapolis, Faith takes the plunge and embarks on a new adventure. However, Faith soon learns things don’t always go as planned when she’s forced to deal with a coffee shop customer from hell, a bruised tailbone, a phone-sex operator roommate, a freeloading little sister, her parents’ taxidermy convention, and a new love interest who may be stalking her. Yet every time Faith tries to rely on her perceptive abilities, friends or family accuse her of being self-involved.

Faith believes in love, but knows she must solve the stalker mystery before she can trust any of the new men in her life. In the process she discovers that she has more to learn about following her heart and following her instincts than she ever imagined.

Following My Toes is a tale of love and forgiveness, told with humor and a fresh, innovative voice!

Following My Toes was chosen as “best chick lit” in the 2008 National Indie Excellence Book Award contest.

Comedy writer and award-winning novelist Laurel Osterkamp has written a funny and moving novella about life, love, and politics as seen through the unique lens of Lucy Jones, a quintessential girl-next-door who is obsessed with political campaigns. Liberal, idealistic, and struggling to find her way, Lucy has an easier time believing in causes than she does in herself. But in the midst of analyzing the mistakes made by past political candidates, Lucy attempts to figure out her own choices when it comes to both her private and public life. There’s her high school sweetheart Jack, Monty, Jack’s magnetic older brother, and her politician boyfriend, Drew. Can any of these men offer Lucy a campaign promise to believe in?

This 19,000 word novella (roughly 60 print-book pages) spans twenty years and offers five slice-of-life vignettes in the life of Lucy Jones:

–The Prom and John Bayard Anderson

–The Wedding and Gary Hart

–The Funeral and Paul Wellstone

–The Baby Shower and Pat Schroeder

–The High School Reunion and Michele Bachmann

*Note – This book has a liberal slant. If you’re a Michele Bachmann fan, you probably won’t enjoy it.

As a special bonus the first four chapters of Osterkamp’s second full-length novel, Starring in the Movie of My Life, are included in the back.